Global Game Jam Singapore 2017 scheduled for Jan. 20-22

Gird your loins, developers, it’ll soon be that time of the year – and no, we don’t mean Chinese New Year.

Republic Polytechnic will once again host the annual Global Game Jam Singapore, a 48-hour hackathon where teams rush to conceptualize and prototype a game based on a mystery theme. It doesn’t have to be a video game either, as board and card games qualify too.

This latest iteration will see Unity and Riot Games (yes, the same company that runs eSports juggernaut League of Legends) chipping in with food, T-shirts, and prizes.

Registration is free and open to anyone above the age of 15, even if they don’t have experience. Facilitators will also be on hand to help solo participants find teams.

Find the appropriate registration link here.

Global Game Jam Singapore 2016 saw 229 participants hammering out a total of 48 games to the theme of “Ritual”. Some are incomplete but most have an executable you could easily download and try right now.

There’s a great deal of variety here: Face Clap is a 100-player mobile rhythm game; Devil’s Pet is a card game about a demon auction; Djinnvoke is side-scrolling puzzle-platformer that borrows Magicka’s elemental combination mechanic; and Full Elemental Alchemist is basically a love-letter to an acclaimed manga and anime series.

They’re prototypes, they’re going to be rough, and they’re a great reminder of how much work actually goes into development.

Global Game Jam was founded in 2009, inspired by the likes of Nordic Game Jam and Ludum Dare that came before it. Sites are independently hosted around the world, scheduled on the same dates so as to receive the keynote speech and the year’s theme all at the same time. Singapore, in particular, has seen participant numbers growing every year.

[Source: GlobalGameJamSG]
[Artwork: Republic Polytechnic]